How Compassion Shapes Managers at Work

Study 1 — Compassion for others

This study examined how compassion directed at others and compassion received from others affect managers' secure flourishing and organisational commitment. A key finding: while a manager's own general compassion and belief in common humanity boosted their personal flourishing, it was the compassion experienced from colleagues and the organisation that most strongly predicted both flourishing and commitment.

Experienced compassion had a strong, significant effect on both secure flourishing and organisational commitment

Reference: Ford M, Rothmann S & Van Zyl LE (2024). https://doi.org/10.3389/forgp.2024.1383378

Watch a video about the results of Study 1 here: https://vimeo.com/1186463163

Study 2 — Self-compassion

This study turned the lens inward, investigating how kindly managers treat themselves. Using latent profile analysis, four distinct flourishing profiles emerged — languishers, moderate languishers, moderate flourishers, and flourishers — and self-compassion cleanly differentiated them: flourishers scored highest, languishers scored lowest. The results confirm self-compassion as a core resource for managerial wellbeing.

Managers in the flourishing profile reported significantly higher self-compassion than those who were languishing

Reference: Ford M, Rothmann S & Van Zyl LE (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02922-7

Watch a video about the results of Study 2 here: https://vimeo.com/1187579706

Study 3 — Compassion profiles

What happens when managers give everything to their teams but never extend that same kindness to themselves? This study brought both forms of compassion together, using a person-centred latent profile approach to map how 404 managers combine care for others with care for themselves — and what it costs them when the two are out of balance.

Five distinct compassion configurations (Self-Critical Caregivers, Balanced Professionals, 3 Ambivalent Responders, Compassionate Leaders, and Conflicted Altruists) emerged. Managers who combined high self-compassion with high other-directed compassion flourished the most. At the other extreme, those who showed strong compassion toward others but minimal self-compassion reported the lowest well-being of any group — a pattern the researchers describe as "compassion as a double-edged sword."

Highest flourishing — Compassionate Leaders (very high on both). Lowest well-being — Self-Critical Caregivers (very high other-compassion, low self-compassion).

Organisations cannot sustainably promote compassionate management by focusing solely on outward empathy. Interventions must address both dimensions simultaneously.

Ford M, Rothmann S & Van Zyl LE (2026). The five faces of compassion. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology. [In press]

What the three studies reveal together

All three orientations of compassion predict flourishing, but through different pathways. External compassion drives organisational commitment; self-compassion predicts wellbeing profiles; and the combination determines how much managers truly thrive.

Management development programmes must address all three dimensions: teaching managers to show compassion, cultivating compassionate organisational cultures, and building self-compassion as a personal resource. You cannot pour from an empty cup.